The greening of computers and electronics

I kid you not. On the first day of the Master Recycler course I asked what eWaste is. I honestly did not know. If you're in that same boat, it's short for electronic waste, or unwanted, obsolete, or unusable electronic products such as computers. eWaste is a particularly tricky waste stream because electronics are made up of a diverse mix of materials (some precious and some toxic) put together in complex ways.

So have you got eWaste sitting in a closet at home somewhere? Understandable. It's hard to part with computers or electronics that you paid big bills for and were considered "top of the line" not so long ago. It's best if you can find someone to reuse it. We've found new homes for some of our old computers via Craigslist. Free Geek may be your solution if you don't want to sell it. They rebuild and adopt out good computers, and they break down truly obsolete machines into recyclable parts using volunteer labor. Volunteers can work toward earning their own computer once they've put in a certain amount of hours.

Now Oregon is one of several states on the cusp of eWaste legislation. The measure would require electronics manufacturers to open recycling sites or to help pay for collective sites where electronic devices could be returned free of charge. Amen to that!

There's also a few other organizations we should be aware of as electronics consumers. There's a voluntary program for electronics manufacturers called EPEAT that helps consumers pick products based on their environmental attributes. There's also MyGreenElectronics to help us make greener choices when we are buying electronics. We are a pretty hard-core Mac family, so I was pleased to see Steve Jobs' letter about a "greener apple".

I could go on and on, but let me finish by tying in a discussion of the power of consumer opinions in our final Master Recycler class this week (so, yes, indeed, Heather and I are newly ordained "Master Recylers" now). Use the 800 numbers. Write letters. Tell manufacturers what you think about excessive packaging and environmental impact. The green choir is growing and getting louder. Hallelujah! Vote with your dollar! OK, someone make me step away from the keyboard now!